Methods and Systems for Facilitating Financial Exchanges Between Liquidity Takers and Liquidity Providers

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for facilitating transactions between a plurality of liquidity takers (LTs) and a plurality of liquidity providers (LPs) are disclosed. In one example, a computer-implemented method for facilitating transactions between a plurality of LTs and a plurality of LPs is provided. The method may include: (i) assigning a unique identifier to each LP and each LT among a plurality of LPs and LTs in a financial market; (ii) establishing a unique communication channel with each LP and each LT among the plurality of LPs and LTs; (iii) obtaining a plurality of pricing streams from one or more of the plurality of LPs via the unique communication channel established with the one or more of the plurality of LPs; (iv) analyzing LP pricing stream configuration information; and (v) transmitting the plurality of pricing streams to one or more of the plurality of LTs based on the LP pricing stream configuration information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM FOR PRIORITY

The instant application is related to and claims priority to previouslyfiled U.S. provisional patent application No. 61/747,698 filed Dec. 31,2012 sharing the same title, and U.S. provisional patent application No.61/799,490 filed Mar. 15, 2013 also sharing the same title.

FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems forfacilitating financial exchanges, or transactions, between a pluralityof liquidity takers (each a “LT,” collectively “LTs”) and a plurality ofliquidity providers (each a “LP,” collectively “LPs”).

BACKGROUND

LTs and LPs frequently have different concerns with regard to the issuesaffecting the financial market, or markets, in which they transactbusiness. For example, LPs are often interested in providing customizedpricing on particular financial products to different LTs. Stateddifferently, LPs would like to offer a given LT a particular price on afinancial product at a particular point in time and offer a different LTa different price on the same financial product at the same point intime. The ability of LPs to provide customized pricing to different LTsfrequently serves to advance the LPs' economic objectives.

Conversely, LTs are frequently concerned with obtaining the optimal(i.e., “best”) pricing on a given financial product in order to meettheir own economic objectives. Typically, this involves LTs seeking outpricing information for a given financial product from a plurality ofprospective counterparties (e.g., a plurality of LPs). In this manner, agiven LT may identify the optimal pricing relative to the desiredfinancial product by “shopping around.” However, conventionally, theprocess of shopping around for pricing on financial products wasarduous, frequently requiring the establishment of separate, directlines of communication with all prospective counterparties.

For example, in the past, a party wishing to transact a particularforeign exchange (forex) product would often have to contact (e.g., viatelephone or the like) several different prospective counterparties inorder to evaluate available pricing. This process, requiring theestablishment of separate communication channels with each prospectivecounterparty, demanded a tremendous expenditure of resources. Forexample, in a scenario where only a single communication channel isavailable, there is a tremendous waste of time associated withestablishing separate, successive communication channels withprospective counterparties. As a corollary, there is a tremendousfinancial burden imposed upon parties wishing to establish multiplecommunication channels capable of communicating with prospectivecounterparties simultaneously. Although the preceding example focused onthe trading of forex financial products, those having ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that the instant discussion of the prior art aswell as the subsequent teachings of the instant disclosure may applyequally well to the trading of any financial product, including but notlimited to, bonds, interest rates, mortgages, financial derivatives,credit products, loans, deposits, money markets, financial futures,contract for difference (CFDs), energy products, precious metals,commodities, other financial assets, and/or other over-the-counter (OTC)products.

Further still, conventional systems and techniques for facilitating theexchange of financial products often required open disclosure of theidentities of the participants in the financial market. Returning to theforeign exchange example, in the past, a party wishing to trade a forexproduct would have to call each prospective counterparty (the one ormore counterparties' identities being known to the party wishing toexecute the trade) and reveal their identify. By requiring fulldisclosure of participants' identities, conventional systems andtechniques for facilitating the exchange of financial products permittedbias (e.g., bias based upon past dealings with particular marketparticipants) to seep into the market, preventing all participants fromreceiving accurate, fair pricing information.

There are two primary value propositions that affect the suitability ofa particular trading platform for market participants: (1) liquidityoptimization and (2) operational efficiency. As known in the art,liquidity optimization may refer to a market participant's ability toaccess differentiated pricing from multiple market participants for thesame financial product. In addition, and as known in the art,operational efficiency may refer to a market participant's ability toconnect with a plurality of counterparts through a single logicalconnection, or the ability to connect one or more LTs with a pluralityof LPs through a single logical connection. Conventional tradingplatforms are largely designed to provide either good liquidityoptimization or good operational efficiency, but not both.

For example, referring now to FIG. 1, a conventional bilateral marketplatform 100 for facilitating multiple, bilateral financial transactionsis illustrated. In FIG. 1, pricing streams may be exchanged between aplurality of LPs 120 and a plurality of LTs 130 through the platform100. As noted above, the pricing streams may be relative to any suitablefinancial product or products for which a market exists, and in oneexample may include forex financial products.

The conventional bilateral market platform 100 of FIG. 1 is an exampleof a trading platform that provides good liquidity optimization, butpoor operational efficiency. For example, from a liquidity optimizationstandpoint, bilateral market platform 100 permits LPs to providecustomized pricing to each of the LTs. However, from an operationalefficiency standpoint, platform 100 requires each LP to establishseparate communication channels with each LT. Similarly, platform 100requires each LT to establish separate communication channels with eachLP. This leads to the inefficiencies noted above.

Further, platform 100 is “transparent” in that the identities of each ofthe market participants (i.e., LPs 120 and LTs 130) are known to all ofthe market participants. In many respects, transparency can bebeneficial for all of the participants in the market. However, incertain circumstances, pricing made available through platform 100 maybe susceptible to bias introduced by virtue of the platform's inherenttransparency. That is, market participants 120, 130 interacting throughplatform 100 may not receive the benefit of “fair” pricing, but rather,may be forced to endure biased pricing based upon the known identitiesof the market participants.

Another drawback associated with the conventional bilateral marketplatform 100 is that such a platform is “opt-in.” That is, this type ofplatform requires both LPs and LTs to provide necessary permissions inorder to receive pricing information. Accordingly, the necessity toreceive permissions from all of the LPs and LTs may grow exponentiallyas new LPs and/or LTs wish to access the financial market facilitatedthrough the platform 100.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a diagram illustrating a conventional centralorder book platform 200 is shown. The central order book platform 200 isan example of a trading platform that provides poor liquidityoptimization, but good operational efficiency. From a liquidityoptimization standpoint, central order book platform 200 performs poorlyin that it requires LPs to provide a single price for a given financialproduct to all of the LTs (i.e., no customized pricing). However, froman operational efficiency standpoint, central order book platform 200performs well in that it permits a given LP to transact business with aplurality of LTs through a single logical connection (and, consequently,permits a single LT to transact business with a plurality of LPs).

Further, in FIG. 2, the number of bilateral permissions is limited toonly one permission for each of the LPs 220 or the LTs 230 via thecentral order book platform 200. A disadvantage of this type of platform200 is that LPs 220 can only provide a single pricing to all of the LTs230, which precludes customized pricing for each individual LT (e.g.,LT(1)). In addition, LTs 230 may often prefer to having plural pricingbecause they may be the benefactor of customized pricing.

Accordingly, new methods and systems for facilitating financialtransactions between a plurality of LTs and a plurality of LPs aredesired, aimed at alleviating one or more of the above-noted drawbacks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram generally depicting one example of a conventional,bilateral market platform for facilitating multiple, bilateral financialtransactions.

FIG. 2 is a diagram generally depicting one example of a conventional,central order book platform for facilitating financial transactions,which attempts to solve some of the drawbacks associated with theconventional, bilateral market platform.

FIG. 3 is diagram illustrating a matrix including an intermediary forliquidity exchange, according to various aspects of the currentdisclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a computing systemfor facilitating transactions between a plurality of liquidity takers(LTs) and a plurality of liquidity providers (LPs), according to variousaspects of the current disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating one example of a method forfacilitating transactions between a plurality of liquidity takers (LTs)and a plurality of liquidity providers (LPs), according to variousaspects of the current disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another example of a method forfacilitating transactions between a plurality of liquidity takers (LTs)and a plurality of liquidity providers (LPs), according to variousaspects of the current disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a relationship diagram illustrating one example of the directand indirect relationships between different participants in amulti-participant market, according to one aspect of the currentdisclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating various exemplary systemcomponents in a networked environment, according to one aspect of thecurrent disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computing systemsuitable for use in implementing the teachings of the currentdisclosure.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides methods and systems for facilitatingtransactions between a plurality of liquidity takers (LTs) and aplurality of liquidity providers (LPs). In one example, a method forfacilitating transactions between a plurality of LTs and a plurality ofLPs is provided. In this example, the method may include assigning aunique identifier to each LP and each LT among a plurality of LPs andLTs in a financial market. Each unique identifier may be anon-personally identifiable identifier. The method may also includeestablishing a unique communication channel with each LP and each LTamong the plurality of LPs and LTs. The method may also includeobtaining a plurality of pricing streams from one or more of theplurality of LPs via the unique communication channel established withthe one or more of the plurality of LPs. Further, the method may includeanalyzing LP pricing stream configuration information. The LP pricingstream configuration information may include information influencingwhich specific one or more LTs of the plurality of LTs are to receivethe plurality of pricing streams. For example, based on the LP pricingstream configuration information, some, all, or none of the LTs in thefinancial market may receive pricing streams from one or more of theplurality of LPs. Finally, in this example, the method may includetransmitting the plurality of pricing streams to one or more of theplurality of LTs based on the LP pricing stream configurationinformation. In one example, the method may additionally include thestep of facilitating the execution of one or more transactions for oneor more financial products between one or more of the plurality of LTsand one or more of the plurality of LPs. In still another example, themethod may include obtaining the LP pricing stream configurationinformation from the one or more of the plurality of LPs.

In one example, the LP pricing stream configuration information may bebased on various criteria including, but not limited to: the uniqueidentifier assigned to each LT; an economic value of an order flow fromone or more of the plurality of LTs to one or more of the plurality ofLPs; a volume of orders; an information value of the orders; a marketshare value; a uniqueness of a financial product sought to betransacted; a time of day; market conditions; testing/experimentation;information gathering; competitive analysis; credit of one or moreintermediaries through which one or more of the plurality of LPs areconnected to one or more of the plurality of LTs; and/or informationdisclosure.

In another example, the financial market for which the teachings of theinstant disclosure may be applied may include, but is not limited to: aforeign exchange market; a bond market; an interest rate market; anover-the-counter (OTC) market; a mortgage market; a financialderivatives market; a credit products market; a loans market; a depositsmarket; a money market; a financial futures market; a contract fordifferences (CFDs) market; an energy products market; a precious metalsmarket; a commodities market; and/or a financial assets market.

In one example, another method for facilitating transactions between aplurality of LTs and a plurality of LPs is provided. In this example,the method may include assigning a unique identifier to each LP and eachLT among a plurality of LPs and LTs in a financial market. Each uniqueidentifier may be a non-personally identifiable identifier. The methodmay also include establishing a unique communication channel with eachLP and each LT among the plurality of LPs and LTs. The method may alsoinclude obtaining a plurality of pricing streams from one or more of theplurality of LPs via the unique communication channel established withthe one or more of the plurality of LPs. Further, the method may includeanalyzing LT pricing stream configuration information. The LT pricingstream configuration information may include information influencingwhich specific one or more LPs of the plurality of LPs to receive theplurality of pricing streams from. For example, based on the LT pricingstream configuration information, a given LT may receive pricing streamsrelative to a given financial product from some, all, or none of the LPsin the financial market. Finally, in this example, the method mayinclude transmitting the plurality of pricing streams to one or more ofthe plurality of LTs based on the LT pricing stream configurationinformation.

Furthermore, aspects of the current disclosure provide a matrix that mayinclude an intermediary (e.g., a prime broker, a central creditcounterparty, a clearinghouse, or any other suitable intermediariesknown to those having ordinary skill in the art) to connect a pluralityof LPs with a plurality of LTs. According to various aspects, one ormore pricing streams coming from the LPs may be received by the matrix,and the matrix may allocate the one or more pricing streams to specificLTs. According to various aspects, the matrix may allocate the one ormore price streams on the basis of various parameters, such as thosedescribed above. As a result, each LT only needs a single logicalconnection to the matrix, from which a set of prices from a plurality ofLPs is received. Each LT can also receive a plurality of tailored pricestreams, but without the disadvantage of having a large number ofconnections and the associated operational requirements. In addition, aLP also only needs a single connection to the matrix to reach aplurality of LTs to provide each of the plurality of LTs with acustomized set of price streams, and LT only needs a single connectionto the matrix to receive the pricing streams.

Additional advantages and novel features of these aspects of thedisclosure will be set forth in part in the description that follows,and in part will become more apparent to those skilled in the art uponexamination of the following or upon learning by practice of the methodsand systems described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

These and other features and advantages of this disclosure are describedin, or are apparent from, the following detailed description of variousexample aspects. It may be evident, however, that such aspects may bepracticed without these specific details.

The processing of trades amongst participants to a market (e.g., LTs andLPs), through a system (e.g., an exchange) may be accomplished throughusing one or more servers and over a network. As used in the followingdescription, an application may include, but is not limited to, aprogram, and/or segments, modules, snippets and the like, of a program.In particular, the present disclosure enables a system and associatedapplications to facilitate the trading of financial products (e.g.,forex products) in a financial market (e.g., a forex market).Participants in a market may engage in transactions for various reasons,such as, but not limited to, security settlements, passive and/or activehedging, currency alpha, dividends, payments, and the like. Theparticipants have one or more objectives while engaging in financialtransactions, such as, but not limited to, minimizing transaction costs,obtaining a fair deal (e.g., no disadvantage in comparison to likepositioned participants), efficient and accurate processing, and thelike.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a matrix 300 including an intermediary310 for liquidity exchange, according to various aspects of the instantdisclosure. As used herein, a matrix 300 may include, but is not limitedto, a trading platform accessible by market participants over one ormore communication networks. For example, in one embodiment, the matrix300 may be visually represented as a graphical user interface (GUI)viewable on display devices connected to participants' computing devices(e.g., desktop PCs, laptop computers, tablets, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants, etc.). In one example, the matrixGUI may be presented on a webpage accessible to participants over anetwork, such as the Internet.

As shown in FIG. 3, the matrix 300 may include an intermediary 210, orcredit facilitator, communicating with both a plurality of LPs 320 and aplurality of LTs 330. As used herein, an intermediary (e.g.,intermediary 310) may include, but is not limited to, a prime broker, acentral credit counterparty, a clearinghouse, or any other suitableintermediary known to those having ordinary skill in the art. Accordingto various aspects, each LP (e.g., LP(A)) may provide a plurality ofpricing streams to the LTs 330 via the matrix 300. In the aspectillustrated in FIG. 3, each LP (e.g., LP(A)) has ten (10) pricingstreams. However, those having ordinary skill in the art will recognizethat any suitable number of pricing streams may be provided as desired.According to various aspects, the various pricing streams of the LPs 320are provided to and received by the intermediary 310 in the matrix 300,and one or more of the pricing streams provided by the LPs 320 are thenredistributed to either all of the LTs 330 or to one or more specificLTs 330, where the one or more specific LTs 330 are designated/allocatedbased on various criteria assessed by the matrix 300.

Criteria assessed by the matrix 300 in designating/allocating thepricing streams may include any criteria affecting the economic value ofa given transaction to a given market participant. The criteria mayinclude, but is not limited to, a unique identifier assigned to each LTor LP; an economic value of an order flow from one or more of theplurality of LTs to one or more of the plurality of LPs; a volume oforders; an information value of the orders; a market share value; auniqueness of a financial product sought to be transacted; a time ofday; market conditions; testing/experimentation; information gathering;competitive analysis; credit of one or more intermediaries through whichone or more of the plurality of LPs are connected to one or more of theplurality of LTs; information disclosure; an execution qualityassociated with one or more of the plurality of LPs; one or more pricessupplied by one or more of the plurality of LPs concerning a financialproduct sought to be transacted; a typical response time associated withone or more of the plurality of LPs; a propensity for informationleakage associated with one or more of the plurality of LPs; a sizeavailable for a the financial product sought to be transacted; and/orprice stability associated with the financial product sought to betransacted.

In addition, other criteria may equally be considered in determiningwhich pricing streams are redistributed to the LTs 330. For example, inone embodiment, if a LT is a savvy trader and is “winning” too often ontransactions, then the matrix 300 may be configured toredistribute/allocate pricing streams with larger spreads to that LT.

Further, although the above example contemplatesredistributing/allocating pricing streams to at least one LT (e.g.,LT(1)), those having ordinary skill will recognize that in oneembodiment no pricing streams are redistributed/allocated to any of theLTs.

According to various aspects, in an example system having threedifferent LPs, LP(A), LP(B) and LP(C) communicating with three differentLTs, LT(1), LT(2) and LT(3), FIG. 3 illustrates an example where LT(1)receives the first price stream from LP(A) (A1), the sixth price streamfrom LP(B) (B6) and the second price stream from LP(C) (C2). On theother hand, a different LT, LT(2), receives the ninth price stream fromLP(A) (A9), the first price stream from LP(B) (B1) and the third pricestream from LP(C) (C3). Yet another LT, LT(3), receives the third pricestream from LP(A) (A3) and the ninth price stream from LP(B) (B9), butnot any price streams from LP(C).

According to various aspects of the current disclosure, the criteriaused at the matrix 300, for example at the intermediary 310, to providecustomized pricing to LTs, may include a specific price range for LT(1),but a different price range for LT(2). According to various aspects, anygiven LT only needs a single logical connection to the matrix 300 andthe intermediary 310, instead of a plurality of connections to aplurality of LPs 320 with varying price streams, but is able to receivea plurality of pricing streams to choose from. Similarly, each of theLPs 320 only need a single logical connection to the matrix 300 and theintermediary 310 to be able to provide customized pricing streams to aplurality of LTs 330. In one embodiment, each LP and LT may be asked forpermission to connect to the matrix 200 a single time, as opposed to aplurality of times as is the case with the conventional bilateral marketplatforms, such as the platform 100 illustrated in FIG. 1.

Furthermore, while the above description focused on sending particularprice streams from LPs to LTs, in one embodiment, the LTs 330 mayprovide information to the matrix 300 indicating which particular LPs320 those LTs 330 wish to receive price streams from. For example, agiven LT (e.g., LT(1)) may not wish to receive price streams from aparticular LP (e.g., LP(A)) because of, for example, concerns overinformation leakage. In this embodiment, any individual LT mayexplicitly designate (e.g., by communicating information reflecting asmuch) one or more LPs from which that LT does not wish to receive pricestreams. In still another embodiment, rather than making an explicitdesignation, any individual LT may configure certain criteria (referredto elsewhere herein as LT pricing stream configuration information) tobe assessed by the matrix 300 in determining whether or not a given LTshould receive price streams from a given LP. This criteria may include,but is not limited to: an execution quality associated with one or moreof the plurality of LPs; one or more prices supplied by one or more ofthe plurality of LPs concerning a financial product sought to betransacted; a typical response time associated with one or more of theplurality of LPs; a propensity for information leakage associated withone or more of the plurality of LPs; a size available for a thefinancial product sought to be transacted; and/or price stabilityassociated with the financial product sought to be transacted

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram illustrating one example of acomputing system 400 for facilitating transactions between a pluralityof liquidity takers (LTs) 402 and a plurality of liquidity providers(LPs) 404 is provided. As shown, the computing system 400 may include acommunications module 412, a unique identifier assigning module 406operatively connected to the communications module 412, a pricing streamallocation module 408 operatively connected to the communications module412, and a transaction execution module 422 operatively connected to thecommunications module. Market participants (e.g., LTs 402 and/or LPs404) may communicate with the computing system 400 over one or morewired or wireless networks as shown, using network communicationtechniques well known in the art.

In operation, computing system 400 may function as follows. The uniqueidentifier assigning module 406 is configured to assign a uniqueidentifier to each LP and LT (the unique identifiers represented asreference numerals 420 a-420 d of FIG. 4) participating in the market.The unique identifiers 420 a-d are non-personally identifiableidentifiers, in that they do not convey any specific information aboutthe identities of the underlying LPs 402 and LTs 404. In this manner,the unique identifiers 420 a-d ensure “pseudonimity” amongst the marketparticipants 402, 404. Among other advantages, pseudonimity may preventLPs 402 from taking advantage of the LTs 404, and may also protect theLPs 402 from LTs 404 that may present a financial risk. In one example,the unique identifiers 420 a-d may include a string of text, numbers, orsymbols representing each of the market participants 402, 404.

The communications module 412 is configured to establish a uniquecommunication channel with each LP and each LT. The communicationsmodule 412 of FIG. 4 is illustrated as having established a first uniquecommunication channel 414 a with LT(1), a second unique communicationchannel 414 b with LT(N), a third unique communication channel 414 cwith LP(1), and a fourth unique communication channel 414 d with LP(N).Techniques for establishing communications channels over a network arewell known to those having ordinary skill in the art.

Once the communication channels 414 a-d have been established, a varietyof information may be conveyed between the computing system 400 and themarket participants 402, 404 via the channels 414 a-d. For example, theunique identifiers 420 a-d may be conveyed to all or some of the marketparticipants 402, 404. In this manner, each market participant may knowthe unique identifier assign to themselves, as well as the uniqueidentifiers assigned to some or all of the other market participants. Inaddition, the communications module 412 is configured to obtain pricingstreams (e.g., pricing streams 416 a-b) from one or more of the LPs 404via the unique communication channels (e.g., channels 414 c-d). Thus,pricing stream 416 a reflects a stream of prices offered by LP(1)relative to one or more financial products over time. Similarly, pricingstream 416 b reflects a stream of prices offered by LP(N) relative toone or more financial products over time.

The pricing stream allocation module 408 is configured to allocate theprice streams 416 a-b received from the LPs 402 to none, some, or all ofthe LTs 402 based, for example, on LP pricing stream configurationinformation 418 a-b and/or LT pricing stream configuration information419 a-b. Thus, LP pricing stream configuration information 418 areflects pricing stream configuration information associated with (e.g.,obtained from) LP(1), while LP pricing stream configuration information418 b reflects pricing stream configuration information associated with(e.g., obtained from) LP(N). Similarly, LT pricing stream configurationinformation 419 a reflects pricing stream configuration informationassociated with (e.g., obtained from) LT(1), while LT pricing streamconfiguration information 418 b reflects pricing stream configurationinformation associated with (e.g., obtained from) LT(N). As noted above,several factors may influence the specific LT pricing streamconfiguration information 419 a-b and/or the specific LP pricing streamconfiguration information 418 a-b, including those set forth inadditional detail above.

From the perspective of the LPs 404, the LP pricing stream configurationinformation 418 a-b includes information affecting which (if any) of theLTs are to receive the pricing streams 416 a-b. In one example, the LPpricing stream configuration information 418 a-b may be received by thepricing stream allocation module 408 from one or more of the LPs 404,and may specifically designate which particular LTs are to receive thepricing streams 416 a-b (e.g., by identifying the particular LTs desiredto receive the pricing streams using those LTs' assigned uniqueidentifiers).

In another example, the LP pricing stream configuration information 418a-b furnished by one or more of the LPs 404 may not specificallydesignate which particular LTs are to receive the price streams, butrather, may include criteria to be assessed by the pricing streamallocation module 408. In this example, the pricing stream allocationmodule 408 is configured to decide which LTs are to receive pricingstreams based on the criteria. For example, the criteria information mayindicate that a particular LP only wants to provide pricing streams tocertain LTs whose profiles' satisfy the criteria information. Thepricing stream allocation module 408 is configured to compare profileinformation about the LTs 402 with the criteria information and onlyallocate pricing streams to those LTs meeting the criteria information.

From the perspective of the LTs 402, the LT pricing stream configurationinformation 419 a-b includes information affecting which (if any) LPs404 the LTs 402 are to receive pricing streams from. In one example, theLT pricing stream configuration information 419 a-b may be received bythe pricing stream allocation module 408 from one or more of the LTs402, and may specifically designate which particular LPs the one or moreLTs would like to receive pricing streams (e.g., pricing streams 416a-b) from (e.g., by identifying the particular LPs from whom pricingstreams are desired using those LPs' assigned unique identifiers).

In another example, the LT pricing stream configuration information 419a-b furnished by one or more of the LTs 402 may not specificallydesignate which particular LPs pricing streams are sought from, butrather, may include criteria to be assessed by the pricing streamallocation module 408. In this example, the pricing stream allocationmodule 408 is configured to decide which LPs to furnish pricing streams(e.g., pricing streams 416 a-b) from based on the criteria. For example,the criteria information may indicate that a particular LT only wants toreceive pricing streams from certain LPs whose profiles' satisfy thecriteria information. The pricing stream allocation module 408 isconfigured to compare profile information about the LPs 404 with thecriteria information and only allocate pricing streams of those LPsmeeting the criteria information.

After the pricing stream allocation module 408 has determined which LTsare to receive the price streams 416 a-b from the one or more LPs 404(based upon, for example, the LP pricing stream configurationinformation 418 a-b and/or the LT pricing stream configurationinformation 419 a-b), the communications module 412 is configured totransmit the pricing streams 416 a-b to one or more of the LTs 402.

After the one or more LTs 402 have had an opportunity to review the oneor more pricing streams supplied by the one or more LPs 404 (e.g.,pricing streams 416 a, 416 b, or 416 a and 416 b), a given LT may wishto execute a transaction with a given LP. Accordingly, computing system400 includes the transaction execution module 422. The transactionexecution module 422 is configured to facilitate the execution of one ormore transactions for one or more financial products between one or moreof the LTs 402 and one or more of the LPs 404. Techniques and hardwareconfigurations for facilitating the execution of financial transactionsare known to those having ordinary skill in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a flowchart illustrating one example of amethod for facilitating transactions between a plurality of LTs and LPsis provided. While the computing system 400 is one form for implementingthe processing described herein (including that illustrated in FIG. 5),those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other,functionally equivalent techniques may be employed. Furthermore, asknown in the art, some or all of the functionalities implemented viaexecutable instructions may also be implemented using firmware and/orhardware devices such as application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), programmable logic arrays, state machines, etc. One again,those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate the wide number ofvariations that may be used in this manner.

Beginning at step 500, a unique identifier is assigned to each LP andeach LT among a plurality of LPs and LTs in a financial market, whereineach unique identifier comprises a non-personally identifiableidentifier. At step 502, a unique communication channel is establishedwith each LP and each LT among the plurality of LPs and LTs. At step504, a plurality of pricing streams are obtained from one or more of theplurality of LPs via the unique communication channel established withone or more of the plurality of LPs. At step 506, LP pricing streamconfiguration information is analyzed (e.g., by the pricing streamallocation module 408 of FIG. 4). The LP pricing stream configurationinformation may include information influencing which specific LTs areto receive the plurality of pricing streams. At step 508, the pluralityof pricing streams may be transmitted to one or more of the plurality ofLTs based on the LP pricing stream configuration information. Atoptional step 510, the execution of one or more transactions for one ormore financial products between one or more of the plurality of LTs andone or more of the plurality of LPs may be facilitated.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flowchart illustrating another example of amethod for facilitating transactions between a plurality of LTs and LPsis provided. Steps 500-504 and step 510 may be carried out in accordancewith the description of those steps provided above with regard to FIG.5. At step 600, LT pricing stream configuration information is analyzed.The LT pricing stream information may include information influencingwhich specific LPs the one or more LTs would like to receive pricingstreams from. At step 602, the plurality of pricing streams aretransmitted to one or more of the plurality of LTs based on the LTpricing stream configuration information.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a relationship diagram illustrating one exampleof the direct and indirect participants in a multi-participant market isprovided. In particular, FIG. 7 illustrates how the system described inthe instant disclosure allows all market participants to transact withone another without having to, for example, clear and/or settle with oneanother. Stated another way, and as illustrated by FIG. 7, the systemdescribed in the instant disclosure provides every participant with theability to transact with ever other participant in the marketplacewithout having to, for example, clear or settle with everyone. Becauseeach participant may transact with every other participant in thismodel, each participant is provided with additional chances to obtainbetter pricing.

Specifically, FIG. 7 provides an example of a marketplace with six (8)Participants: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H. The solid lines between theindividual participants represent direct (i.e., physical) relationships.In the context of a trading marketplace, a direct/physical relationshipmay signify, for example, that the parties have a credit relationshipwith one another. For example, the solid line between Participant A andParticipant B reflects that there is a direct/physical relationshipbetween these participants (such as, for example, a creditrelationship). Conversely, the dotted line between participantsrepresents an indirect (i.e., logical) relationship between theparticipants. Thus, the dotted line between Participant E andParticipant B reflects that there is an indirect/logical relationbetween these participants (e.g., these participants do not have acredit relationship with one another).

Despite the fact that there is not a direct relationship betweenparticipants E and B, as shown in FIG. 7, these participants maynonetheless execute transactions with one another within the system ofthe instant disclosure. This is because the system of the instantdisclosure relies on intermediary, direct relationships betweenparticipants to permit transactions between indirect participants.Referring back to the example of participants E and B—E and B maytransact with one another because: (i) E has a direct relationship withparticipant G; (ii) G has a direct relationship with participant H; and(iii) H has a direct relationship with participant B. Stated anotherway, E and B may transact with one another within the system of thepresent disclosure because they are interconnected through direct,intermediary participant-relationships.

Of course, as shown, participants E and B may also transact with oneanother through several additional avenues. For example, (i) E has adirect relationship with participant F; (ii) F has a direct relationshipwith participant A; and (iii) A has a direct relationship withparticipant B. The decision on which particular avenue to utilize toaffect transactions between participants that do not share a directrelationship may be based on several different factors, including, butnot limited to: maximizing profit, minimizing costs, informationdisclosure, latency, testing/experimentation, and/or time of day.

In addition, FIG. 7 illustrates one example of how the participants maybe identified through pseudonyms within the marketplace. The pseudonymsin the diagram shown in FIG. 7 are: “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” “E,” “F,” “G,”and “H.” In one example of the instant disclosure, the pseudonyms arenot the actual names of the participants (e.g., John Doe), but ratherunique identifiers for the participants that, in one example, may betied to that participant's past behavior. For example, the otherparticipants within the marketplace may not know (or cannot view) thetrue identity (i.e., actual name) of participant “A,” but the otherparticipants may be able to view the past behavior (e.g., transactionalhistory) associated with participant A. In this manner, the otherparticipants can make informed decisions about whether they would liketo transact with participant A, without being able to ascertain anypersonally identifiable information (e.g., name, street address,telephone number, etc.) regarding participant A.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a block diagram illustrating various exemplarysystem components in a networked environment is provided. FIG. 8 shows acommunication system 1000 usable in accordance with the presentdisclosure. The communication system 1000 includes one or more accessors1060, 1062 (also referred to interchangeably herein as one or more“users”) and one or more terminals 1042, 1066. In one aspect, data foruse in accordance with the present invention is, for example, inputand/or accessed by accessors 1060, 1062 via terminals 1042, 1066, suchas personal computers (PCs), minicomputers, mainframe computers,microcomputers, telephonic devices, or wireless devices, such aspersonal digital assistants (“PDAs”) or a hand-held wireless devicescoupled to a server 1043, such as a PC, minicomputer, mainframecomputer, microcomputer, or other device having a processor and arepository for data and/or connection to a repository for data, via, forexample, a network 1044, such as the Internet or an intranet, andcouplings 1045, 1046, 1064. The couplings 1045, 1046, 1064 include, forexample, wired, wireless, or fiber-optic links. In another aspect, themethod and system of the present disclosure operate in a stand-aloneenvironment, such as on a single terminal.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a block diagram illustrating an exemplarycomputing system suitable for use in implementing the teachings of thecurrent disclosure is provided. Computer system 900 includes one or moreprocessors, such as processor 904. The processor 904 is connected to acommunication infrastructure 906 (e.g., a communications bus, cross-overbar, or network). Various software aspects are described in terms ofthis example computer system. After reading this description, it willbecome apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s) how toimplement the invention using other computer systems and/orarchitectures.

Computer system 900 can include a display interface 902 that forwardsgraphics, text, and other data from the communication infrastructure 906(or from a frame buffer not shown) for display on a display unit 930.Computer system 900 also includes a main memory 908, preferably randomaccess memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 910. Thesecondary memory 910 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 912and/or a removable storage drive 914, representing a floppy disk drive,a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, and the like. Theremovable storage drive 914 reads from and/or writes to a removablestorage unit 918 in a well-known manner. Removable storage unit 918,represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, and the like,which is read by and written to removable storage drive 914. As will beappreciated, the removable storage unit 918 includes a computer usablestorage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.

In alternative aspects, secondary memory 910 may include other similardevices for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system 900. Such devices may include, for example,a removable storage unit 922 and an interface 920. Examples of such mayinclude a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that foundin video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an erasableprogrammable read only memory (EPROM), or programmable read only memory(PROM)) and associated socket, and other removable storage units 922 andinterfaces 920, which allow software and data to be transferred from theremovable storage unit 922 to computer system 900.

Computer system 900 may also include a communications interface 924.Communications interface 924 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 900 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 924 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, and thelike. Software and data transferred via communications interface 924 arein the form of signals 928, which may be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by communicationsinterface 924. These signals 928 are provided to communicationsinterface 924 via a communications path (e.g., channel) 926. This path926 carries signals 928 and may be implemented using wire or cable,fiber optics, a telephone line, a cellular link, a radio frequency (RF)link and/or other communications channels. In this document, the terms“computer program medium” and “computer readable medium” are used torefer generally to media such as a removable storage drive 980, a harddisk installed in hard disk drive 970, and signals 928. These computerprogram products provide software to the computer system 900. Theinvention is directed to such computer program products.

Computer programs (also referred to as computer control logic) arestored in main memory 908 and/or secondary memory 910. Computer programsmay also be received via communications interface 924. Such computerprograms, when executed, enable the computer system 900 to perform thefeatures of the current disclosure, as discussed herein. In particular,the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 910 toperform the features of the current disclosure. Accordingly, suchcomputer programs represent controllers of the computer system 900.

In an aspect where the invention is implemented using software, thesoftware may be stored in a computer program product and loaded intocomputer system 900 using removable storage drive 914, hard drive 912,or communications interface 920. The control logic (software), whenexecuted by the processor 904, causes the processor 904 to perform thefunctions of the invention as described herein. In another aspect, theinvention is implemented primarily in hardware using, for example,hardware components, such as application specific integrated circuits(ASICs), state machines, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.Implementation of the hardware state machine so as to perform thefunctions described herein will be apparent to persons skilled in therelevant art(s).

In yet another aspect, the inventive disclosures described herein may beimplemented using a combination of both hardware and software.

While aspects of this disclosure have been described in conjunction withthe example features outlined above, various alternatives,modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents,whether known or that are or may be presently unforeseen, may becomeapparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art.Accordingly, the example aspects of the disclosure, as set forth above,are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and thereof. Therefore, aspectsof the disclosure are intended to embrace all known or later-developedalternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/orsubstantial equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for facilitatingtransactions between a plurality of liquidity takers (LTs) and aplurality of liquidity providers (LPs), the computer-implemented methodcomprising: assigning, by a processing device, a unique identifier toeach LP and each LT among the plurality of LPs and LTs in a financialmarket, wherein each unique identifier comprises a non-personallyidentifiable identifier; establishing, by the processing device, aunique communication channel with each LP and each LT among theplurality of LPs and LTs; obtaining, by the processing device, aplurality of pricing streams from one or more of the plurality of LPsvia the unique communication channel established with the one or more ofthe plurality of LPs; analyzing, by the processing device, LP pricingstream configuration information, wherein the LP pricing streamconfiguration information comprises information influencing whichspecific one or more LTs of the plurality of LTs are to receive theplurality of pricing streams; and transmitting, by the processingdevice, the plurality of pricing streams to specific one or more of theplurality of LTs based on the LP pricing stream configurationinformation.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: facilitating the execution of one or more transactions forone or more financial products between one or more of the plurality ofLTs and one or more of the plurality of LPs.
 3. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining, by the processingdevice, the LP pricing stream configuration information from one or moreof the plurality of LPs.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the LP pricing stream configuration information is based on atleast one of the following: the unique identifier assigned to each LT;an economic value of an order flow from one or more of the plurality ofLTs to one or more of the plurality of LPs; a volume of orders; aninformation value of the orders; a market share value; a uniqueness of afinancial product sought to be transacted; a time of day; marketconditions; testing/experimentation; information gathering; competitiveanalysis; credit of one or more intermediaries through which one or moreof the plurality of LPs are connected to one or more of the plurality ofLTs; and information disclosure.
 5. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the financial market comprises at least one of thefollowing: a foreign exchange market; a bond market; an interest ratemarket; an over-the-counter (OTC) market; a mortgage market; a financialderivatives market; a credit products market; a loans market; a depositsmarket; a money market; a financial futures market; a contract fordifferences (CFDs) market; an energy products market; a precious metalsmarket; a commodities market; and a financial assets market.
 6. Acomputer-implemented method for facilitating transactions between aplurality of liquidity takers (LTs) and a plurality of liquidityproviders (LPs), the computer-implemented method comprising: assigning,by a processing device, a unique identifier to each LP and each LT amongthe plurality of LPs and LTs in a financial market, wherein each uniqueidentifier comprises a non-personally identifiable identifier;establishing, by the processing device, a unique communication channelwith each LP and each LT among the plurality of LPs and LTs; obtaining,by the processing device, a plurality pricing streams from one or moreof the plurality of LPs via the unique communication channel establishedwith the one or more of the plurality of LPs; analyzing, by theprocessing device, LT pricing stream configuration information, whereinthe LT pricing stream configuration information comprises informationinfluencing which specific one or more LPs of the plurality of LPs toreceive the plurality of pricing streams from; and transmitting, by theprocessing device, the plurality of pricing streams to the one or moreof the plurality of LTs based on the LT pricing stream configurationinformation.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, furthercomprising: facilitating the execution of one or more transactions forone or more financial products between one or more of the plurality ofLTs and one or more of the plurality of LPs.
 8. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 6, further comprising: obtaining, by the processingdevice, the LT pricing stream configuration information from the one ormore of the plurality of LTs.
 9. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 6, wherein the LT pricing stream configuration information isbased on at least one of the following: the unique identifier assignedto each LP; an execution quality associated with one or more of theplurality of LPs; one or more prices supplied by one or more of theplurality of LPs concerning a financial product sought to be transacted;a typical response time associated with one or more of the plurality ofLPs; a propensity for information leakage associated with one or more ofthe plurality of LPs; a size available for a the financial productsought to be transacted; and price stability associated with thefinancial product sought to be transacted.
 10. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 6, wherein the financial market comprises at least oneof the following: a foreign exchange market; a bond market; an interestrate market; an over-the-counter (OTC) market; a mortgage market; afinancial derivatives market; a credit products market; a loans market;a deposits market; a money market; a financial futures market; acontract for differences (CFDs) market; an energy products market; aprecious metals market; a commodities market; and a financial assetsmarket.
 11. A computing system for facilitating transactions between aplurality of liquidity takers (LTs) and a plurality of liquidityproviders (LPs), the computing system comprising: a unique identifierassigning module, wherein the unique identifier assigning module isconfigured to assign a unique identifier to each LP and each LT amongthe plurality of LPs and LTs in a financial market, and wherein eachunique identifier comprises a non-personally identifiable identifier; anpricing stream allocation module configured to analyze LP pricing streamconfiguration information, wherein the LP pricing stream configurationinformation comprises information influencing which specific one or moreLTs of the plurality of LTs are to receive the plurality of pricingstreams; and a communications module operatively connected to the uniqueidentifier assigning module and the pricing stream allocation module,wherein the communications module is configured to: establish a uniquecommunication channel with each LP and each LT among the plurality ofLPs and LTs; obtain the plurality of pricing streams from one or more ofthe plurality of LPs via the unique communication channel establishedwith the one or more of the plurality of LPs; and transmit the pluralityof pricing streams to one or more of the plurality of LTs based on theLP pricing stream configuration information.
 12. The computing system ofclaim 11, further comprising: a transaction execution module operativelyconnected to the communications module, wherein the transactionexecution module is configured to facilitate the execution of one ormore transactions for one or more financial products between one or moreof the plurality of LTs and one or more of the plurality of LPs.
 13. Thecomputing system of claim 11, wherein the communications module isfurther configured to obtain the LP pricing stream configurationinformation from one or more of the plurality of LPs.
 14. The computingsystem of claim 11, wherein the intended recipient information is basedon at least one of the following: the unique identifier assigned to eachLT; an economic value of an order flow from one or more of the pluralityof LTs to one or more of the plurality of LPs; a volume of orders; aninformation value of the orders; a market share value; a uniqueness of afinancial product sought to be transacted; a time of day; marketconditions; testing/experimentation; information gathering; competitiveanalysis; credit of one or more intermediaries through which one or moreof the plurality of LPs are connected to one or more of the plurality ofLTs; and information disclosure.
 15. The computing system of claim 11,wherein the financial market comprises at least one of the following: aforeign exchange market; a bond market; an interest rate market; anover-the-counter (OTC) market; a mortgage market; a financialderivatives market; a credit products market; a loans market; a depositsmarket; a money market; a financial futures market; a contract fordifferences (CFDs) market; an energy products market; a precious metalsmarket; a commodities market; and a financial assets market.
 16. Acomputing system for facilitating transactions between a plurality ofliquidity takers (LTs) and a plurality of liquidity providers (LPs), thecomputing system comprising: a unique identifier assigning module,wherein the unique identifier assigning module is configured to assign aunique identifier to each LP and each LT among the plurality of LPs andLTs in a financial market, and wherein each unique identifier comprisesa non-personally identifiable identifier; a pricing stream allocationmodule configured to analyze LT pricing stream configurationinformation, wherein the LT pricing stream configuration informationcomprises information influencing which specific one or more LPs of theplurality of LPs to receive the plurality of pricing streams from; and acommunications module operatively connected to the unique identifierassigning module and the pricing stream allocation module, wherein thecommunications module is configured to: establish a unique communicationchannel with each LP and each LT among the plurality of LPs and LTs;obtain the plurality pricing streams from one or more of the pluralityof LPs via the unique communication channel established with the one ormore of the plurality of LPs; and transmit the plurality pricing streamsto one or more of the plurality of LPs based on the LT pricing streamconfiguration information.
 17. The computing system of claim 16, furthercomprising: a transaction execution module operatively connected to thecommunications module, wherein the transaction execution module isconfigured to facilitate the execution of one or more transactions forone or more financial products between one or more of the plurality ofLTs and one or more of the plurality of LPs.
 18. The computing system ofclaim 16, wherein the communications module is further configured toobtain LT pricing stream configuration information from the one or moreof the plurality of LTs.
 19. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising executable instructions that when executed by a processingdevice cause the processing device to carry out a method comprising:assigning a unique identifier to each LP and each LT among a pluralityof LPs and LTs in a financial market, wherein each unique identifiercomprises a non-personally identifiable identifier; establishing aunique communication channel with each LP and each LT among theplurality of LPs and LTs; obtaining a plurality of pricing streams fromone or more of the plurality of LPs via the unique communication channelestablished with the one or more of the plurality of LPs; analyzing LPpricing stream configuration information, wherein the LP pricing streamconfiguration information comprises information influencing whichspecific one or more LTs of the plurality of LTs are to receive theplurality of pricing streams; and transmitting the plurality of pricingstreams to one or more of the plurality of LTs based on the LP pricingstream configuration information.
 20. A non-transitory computer-readablemedium comprising executable instructions that when executed by aprocessing device cause the processing device to carry out a methodcomprising: assigning a unique identifier to each LP and each LT among aplurality of LPs and LTs in a financial market, wherein each uniqueidentifier comprises a non-personally identifiable identifier;establishing a unique communication channel with each LP and each LTamong the plurality of LPs and LTs; obtaining a plurality of pricingstreams from one or more of the plurality of LPs via the uniquecommunication channel established with the one or more of the pluralityof LPs; analyzing LT pricing stream configuration information, whereinthe LT pricing stream configuration information comprises informationinfluencing which specific one or more LPs of the plurality of LPs toreceive the plurality of pricing streams from; and transmitting theplurality of pricing streams to one or more of the plurality of LTsbased on the LT pricing stream configuration information.